Empty Homes
by MrsBjorgman
Summary: M.K has to come to terms with the fact that she is alone now... But will it be that way forever? ONE SHOT.


**So I felt like doing a short one-shot, set years after the movie finished. Here goes...**

It hadn't been easy trying to maintain a romantic relationship between a Jinn and a Stomper but her and Nod made it work for much longer than anyone had thought they would. 2 years. It was hard, not being the same size, not being able to understand him without the monstrosity that her dad designed sitting on her head. Even Mub getting in the way wasn't a bother compared to the difference in size and lifestyle. M.K and Nod had tried so hard to make it work but eventually they had to admit the truth – it wouldn't end with happily ever after for them. M.K stayed with her dad for 6 months after her and Nod broke up but it had become too hard for her and as much as she wanted to see Nod, she knew it wasn't a good idea. He had come to the house one night but she had told her Dad to ask him to leave. He hadn't left of course, but she refused to put the goggled headset on so she didn't know what he was trying to say to her. She cried herself to sleep that night and decided that she couldn't stay there any longer. She had packed her bags, explaining to her Dad why she had to leave and he was very understanding. She moved in to the city and found herself a job and an apartment. M.K had always dreamt of going to college but found herself not being as compelled to, it just seemed so dull in comparison to living in the forest with the Jinn. She would never forget her short-lived adventure. So, M.K had worked in a local grocery store, then behind a bar in the evenings to afford her small but over priced apartment, trying to force herself to at least forget her feelings for Nod, even if she couldn't forget about Nod himself. She and her dad kept up their relationship, he came to visit her but never for more than a day as he had made so much progress with his research since she had been shrunk by Tara, he had so much work to do.

She looked around the room she was standing in now, all of her dad's work around her and pulled her arms around herself, hugging tightly. She missed him. It had been over 2 weeks since he had passed away and it felt sad standing in his house without him. Ozzy had gone 3 years after her forest adventure, but he was an old dog and actually held on longer than anyone expected. She looked around the room again, her eyes resting on the photograph of her with her mother and father and she smiled as a small tear crept down her cheek. Her dad had been buried with her mom, M.K knew that he had never stopped loving his ex-wife. She felt so alone in this house, without a single friend. She had distanced herself from people when she had returned to the Stomper world, under some deluded impression that if she made friends then things would turn sour and she would have to leave them, just like she had had to leave Nod, Ronin, Mub, Grub and her other friends. So she had stayed alone, with her father as her only real companion. She realised now that with him gone, she really was completely alone. She knew that she had to start sorting through his things but really couldn't bring herself to do it. She sank down in his chair and sobbed in to her hands. Over the sound of her quiet sobs, M.K heard a quiet tweeting noise and looking up, she noticed the faint, flickering form of the new – well, not so new anymore – queen. She had grown in to a young woman in the 8 years that had passed since she had been chosen by Tara. M.K instinctively reached for the goggled headset and placed it on her head, adjusting the magnification on it to better see the queen.

"M.K." the queen spoke softly, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks." M.K muttered, sniffling. She glanced behind the queen to the window and saw Ronin and Nod standing there. Ronin smiled and nodded at her. Nod stood stock still, his face expressionless but some emotion, that M.K couldn't quite place, in his eyes.

"I've been giving this a lot of thought. I don't want you to be alone." The queen looked sadly at M.K.

"I don't want to be alone." M.K told the queen.

The queen nodded and said no more before putting her fingertips to her temples. The concentration on her face was faint, a far cry from the strained look she had had when she was focusing on turning M.K big again. Sparkling lights surrounded M.K, lifting her off the ground and she felt herself... Was she shrinking? The sparkling stopped and M.K found herself in darkness, trying to figure out what had happened. She got down on her hands and knees and crawled forwards. She found herself out of the darkness and turned around to see the goggled headset on the floor behind her. She looked up at the big desk in front of her, the queen peered over the edge and grinned. She turned behind her and beckoned to the men at the window. M.K stood, straightening herself and heard a thump in front of her. She looked up to see Nod standing there, looking more mature and more handsome than she remembered him. He stared at her cautiously, unsure of what to do, then surged forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Oh, Nod." M.K sighed, tears spilling from her eyes, "I've missed you so much."

"M.K... I..." Nod stuttered, "I..."

M.K tilted her head to look at him and then stepped back. She immediately regretted it, feeling suddenly cold without him. She could see by the look in his eyes that he hadn't wanted her to move away from his embrace either. She still loved him after all this time, was it possible that he could still love her? She stepped forward and placed her hand on his face, cupping his cheek.

"Oh, Nod." She said again, softer this time then leaned her face into his, kissing him softly on the lips. She felt him jerk his head back and looked at him, her eyes shining with fresh tears.

"I- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" she was cut off by Nod's mouth on hers, hard and passionate, she tilted her head and deepened the kiss. She felt his tongue run across her bottom lip and parted her mouth allowing him to slip his tongue inside. She moved her tongue to meet his and they kissed passionately. After some time, they broke apart.

"I love you." He said, breathlessly.

"Oh Nod. You don't know how long I've wanted to hear you say that. I love you too." She smiled at him and he leaned forwards and pressed his lips to her forehead, her temples, her nose. He took her hand and let out a whistle. His bird landed next to them and he led her towards it, picking her up and placing her on it's back. He climbed up in front of her and she put her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. She knew now that her and Nod could be together without her worrying about her old life. Her life was nothing without Nod. He turned his head round towards her, his eyes searching hers as if he needed to know that this was what she wanted. She smiled at him and touched his cheek.

"Let's go home."

**So there you are, I've recently developed a bit of a weird crush on Nod, I think mostly because Josh Hutcherson does his voice. Hell, maybe it's just Josh Hutcherson that I have a crush on. Please review :)**


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